Bhutto calls on Musharraf to quit
Opposition leader Bhutto says world should stop supporting president.
Special report |
“Look what he is giving to the nation – imposing an emergency, suspending the constitution and cracking down on democratic forces.
As hundreds of extra police moved in around the home where she was staying and set up barricades on streets, a senior government official said her planned procession would not be allowed.
‘Assassination fear’
Last week, police blocked her from leaving her Islamabad home to hold a rally in the nearby city of Rawalpindi.
In Video |
Al Jazeera correspondent James Bays met several opposition politicians in hiding or under virtual house arrest, including Imran Khan, the former cricketer now head of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party, Tehmina Daultana, an MP close to exiled former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and Qazi Hussain Ahmad, president of the Jamaat-e-Islami.
Commonwealth pressure
Your Views |
“I am very worried and angry – Musharraf should realise that we don’t need him”
Avas, Islamabad, Pakistan
|
He said on Sunday general elections would be held by January 9 but declined to say when the constitution would be restored, saying the emergency rule would ensure a free and fair vote.
Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, and George Bush, the US president, on Monday urged Musharraf to lift the emergency.
And the British Commonwealth gave Musharraf 10 days to lift the state of emergency or have the country suspended from the group.
While suspension would be largely symbolic, it could have implications for development assistance.
Pakistan was suspended in 1999 following the military coup that brought Musharraf to power but readmitted in 2004 after perceived progress on democratic reforms.